Abdulrasheed Akere reports,

A 24-year-old lady, Sumayyah Abdallah has emerged as the best-graduating medical student of the 2022/2023 academic session and bagged twenty-three awards in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS).

Sumayyah was awarded and blessed with cash prizes at the medical students’ induction held at the university's auditorium on Saturday, December 09, 2023. She recalled that they're about 140 that started the academic journey far back in 2015 but only 79 were inducted into the medical profession as graduates.

This mother-of-one hails from Agaie, Niger state, and started her medical journey in December 2015 which is tantamount to eight years in December 2023. Aside from the honorary awards, she won more than four hundred thousand naira (N400,000) at the induction.

Dr Sumayyah got married in 2021 immediately after UG4 and gave birth about 3 weeks before the UG5 examinations. “Marriage affected my studies positively, it gave me more motivation and determinants than ever. It made me more focused on achieving my goals,” said Sumayyah.

For students pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, or MBBS, grades are used to measure their performance, not Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). Sumayyah said she had so many good grades that made her deserve the feat. She expressed her excitement about the achievement, “Alhamdulillah, I feel really happy, seeing the smiles on my parents’ faces and their tears of joy is the most satisfying feeling in the whole wide world.”

I faced challenges — Dr Sumayyah

“I faced challenges but challenges are part of life, and we are not as perfect as the picture you see, I was scared at some point in time,” she said. Having a baby in medical school, especially while carrying the 9 months pregnant, and taking care of the child after delivery was strenuous for Sumayyah. This was because she had to read, go to lectures, and sit for many tests. While in fourth-year or 400-level, she wrote several C.A tests in a hospital bed.

Sumayyah almost gave up her dream to be a lifesaver or doctor due to entanglements but she sensed a reason to keep going. Her parents’ hard work, dedication, and unflinching support as well as her siblings’ encouragement to her are what always pushed her to never give up. “Thanks to my husband and my little Zayd too, we went through it all together.”

Avoid too many friends — Sumayyah advises undergraduates

Sumayyah advised undergraduates to stay humble, avoid overconfidence, and avoid too many friends. “What is worth doing is worth doing well. Most importantly, pray as if you’ve never read anything and read as if you’ve never prayed.”